


Natural Colours

by DontCallMeStraightOrCis



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Depression, M/M, about two losers falling in love, awkwardly, bi!Percy, frankercy, it's just gay and sweet okay?, pan!frank
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2018-09-20 22:19:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 20,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9518483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DontCallMeStraightOrCis/pseuds/DontCallMeStraightOrCis
Summary: Why him? Why did they pick him?He knew the answer, yet he couldn't help but repeatedly ask himself that question. He was not the right one for the job, not really. But Frank also knows that no one else will go, even though someone needs to. Someone needs to go find Percy Jackson and bring him back home.There's hardly any of Percy Jackson left in the man he saw in front of him though, and it was going to be a long time until Percy Jackson was ready to go home.But he'll mange it if it's the last thing he'll do because Percy deserves happiness, and Frank knows he'd go to hell to give it to him.





	1. Chapter 1: Grey Room

It was terrifying seeing Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon, Hero of the Camp, become Percy Jackson, the broken boy.

Or man. That was probably the better term to use now, Frank mused. Percy was far from being that little 12 year old boy that he once was. He was in his twenties now, and Frank only wished that he could have known Percy when he was younger. They would have probably gotten on quite well, he thought, since they had so much in common. They both didn't fit in, both became leaders, both had trouble accepting themselves...

But he didn't have much in common with the man in front of him.

Percy was sitting on the ground, in an empty grey room, and he honestly looked dead. His eyes were glazed over and dark with heavy bags underneath them, and he seemed too skinny to be healthy under his baggy clothes. There was an uncomfortable lag to his minimal movements, and if Percy had been born white, he would probably been as pale as a corpse.

Frank realised, quite worryingly, that Percy looked like Nico back when Frank first met that scrawny, pale son of Pluto. It made Frank want to run over to Percy, wrap him in blanket and give him some soup to eat... but he didn't think that would go down well.

Frank felt uncomfortable with the silence, but was even more uncomfortable with the idea of breaking it. He didn't feel like he belonged here, he felt like he should leave. It was liked he'd walked into the funeral of someone he didn't know, but he was afraid to leave in case he makes some noise and disturb everyone.

But he couldn't leave, he just couldn't. Because he came here to find Percy, and he was not leaving until he was found him inside this sad man.

Although Frank hadn't known Percy for long, he'd been surprised when Rachel had told him that Percy had 'gone away'. Well, she told Hazel who told him, but he didn't think that those details really mattered. What mattered was that Percy had left, and after two years of just simple postcards, people had began to get a bit irritated.

Of course Percy frequently called up his family and went to see them (Percy's little sister was always enthusiastic to show off her new present from her big brother) but that wasn't enough for everyone else.

He knew Annabeth had left too, and was burning herself out by pushing everyone away and studying hard to become an architect. The break up had hit them both hard, and neither of them really had the best coping methods.

"Why are you here?"

Frank nearly had a heart attack when Percy finally spoke, which was ridiculous because Percy had been anything but loud. It was barely a whisper, and revealed nothing.

"I-I," Frank had to stop himself for a minute and went over the speech he'd made in his head, "I'm here to bring Percy Jackson back."

"I know that," he laughed in a cold sort of way, "I mean why you?"

Frank asked the same question when he began this journey. Why me? Why not Rachel or Grover, who'd known him for longer? Why not Nico who could shadow travel, or Will who was a doctor and had known him well too? Why not Jason the leader, or Piper who knew all about emotions, or motherly Hazel or- the point was, the list went on, and yet here he was.

"I don't know," Frank said honesty, "I guess everyone was... busy."

Grover had a family, Rachel was busy setting up her own art gallery, Nico didn't want anything to do with Percy, Will didn't want to upset Nico, Jason was busy improving his camp, Piper... well... she was focused on reaching out to Annabeth, she didn't have the time or energy to try and sort out two broken heroes. Hazel said she couldn't handle it, and everyone else apparently agreed. He wasn't mad with them though, he knew where they were coming from. He understood. He wouldn't have come if someone had offered.

"Meaning they didn't want to," Percy translated.

Frank didn't understand when people said Percy was an idiot, he seemed smart enough to Frank. A bit too smart sometimes, in a way that was completely different to Annabeth's brand of intelligence.

"Basically," Frank admitted, "But they do miss you. So much."

"I know that," he sighed, "It's not like I'm completely hiding though. If they cared enough they could find me."

"You don't really want them to though, do you?" Frank said. It felt odd, separating himself from his friends, but he felt like he needed to do this to try and get somewhere with Percy. "That's why you never call or go to see them."

"...I don't have an excuse for that. I'm just a coward."

Frank couldn't help but snort at that.

"Your history would say otherwise."

"This isn't history though, this is right now. And right now, I'm hiding away from everyone I know in the only place I could think of."

"Greece."

Percy nodded, and slowly got up. Frank winced at the sound of Percy's knees clicking, and winced yet again when Percy threw back the curtains and let in the light.

"Bit dramatic, don't you think?" Frank tried to joke.

Anything to liven the mood, and maybe make Percy smile. But Percy was just a silhouette against the dawning sun, untouchable and cold.

"...I guess it was," Percy eventually agreed, "A Disney villain in the making, huh."

"Hero. A Disney hero in the making."

"...As long as I'm not Hercules, I guess I can live with that."

Frank suddenly realised how tired he was, how long he'd been going for, and just how hard he'd worked to find this man. The feeling got stronger when he realised that the room wasn't actually empty, it was just sparsely furnished and there was a bed in the corner begging for him to use it.

"Do you want a hot drink or anything to eat by the way?" Percy asked, quietly and gently like he was afraid to overstep his boundaries.

Frank almost wanted to laugh. It was Percy's house after all, Frank should be the one acting like that, not him.

"How did you afford this place?" Franks asked instead. "It looks like it'd be expensive."

"Hermes. He said he'd get me a good place to live if I helped a few of his kids get to camp."

"Oh..."

Frank wondered whether or not that was actually a fair deal, and he also wondered if he should really ask a question that was stuck in his head, but he went ahead with it anyway.

"How long ago did you do that?"

"Three, maybe four years ago. I can't remember exactly."

Wow.

"So you had this at least two years before you left?"

"I didn't want to have to come here," he said quietly, "I hoped everything would get better after that first year, and everything would go back to normal."

Percy walked away from the window finally, and sat on the old sofa that was in the middle of the room. Frank only joined him when Percy has beckoned him over. When he was finally settled, he asked the big question, the one that apparently had Annabeth going mad: why did he leave his friends? Percy was all about his friends and family it seemed that they were all they lived for, so why did he leave?

"What happened?"

"Everything," he chuckled, "It would take me years to explain it all, but I can tell you the final thing... the final thing that sealed the deal for me."

"Okay."

"Grover broke our empathy link."

Frank couldn't help it. His jaw dropped, and he stared at Percy in complete shock. Percy just looked away.

"B-But you were best friends... and I thought empathy links couldn't be-"

"Broken? I didn't think so either... I don't know, maybe they can and it's all super easy, it was no trouble at all to cut it off."

He imitated cutting a thread with scissors before falling against the back of this sofa. He looked agitated now, with his brooding expression and the antsy tapping of his fingers against his thigh. He looked really to explode. But Frank wasn't going to move and avoid the impact.

"Grover said it was just because he didn't want to have an empathy link with someone when he was going to get married, and said that Juniper was a bit... worried about it. But I know the truth. I'm not as dumb as I look."

"You don't look dumb."

"I know; I look shit."

Frank jumped a bit at that; he didn't think he'd ever heard Percy swear. Mind you, most of the time Percy was surrounded by kids so he couldn't really swear, but it was still shocking. And the bitter way in which he spit out that word just made it even worse.

"Grover was sick of me influencing his moods all the time; making him angry and sad and upset and guilty and giving him nightmares... not on purpose though. I'd never want anyone to go through what I had to..."

He shivered, and gets up, beginning to walk in slow circles around the room. He looked deep in thought, like he had too many things to say but he didn't know how and if he should say them. He looked like he was trying to analyse a map to find the fastest way home.

"But he could have just said- I would've understood- was he really that scared of me?"

"He wasn't-"

"He was," Percy snapped loudly.

His fists were clenched, and he was standing right in front of the sofa, staring Frank down. He was tense like a spring waiting to snap, but then he let it all out. He let go. He took a deep breath, and relaxed.

"They're all afraid of me. That's why they didn't come. That's why Grover cut the link, why no one can look me in the eye, why Annabeth... and now you're afraid of me too. Great."

"I'm not," Frank answers, but he wasn't so sure about it. This man didn't look very safe.

"Don't lie," he seemed to beg, "Everyone is afraid of me. My friends are afraid of me, my allies are afraid of me, my enemies are afraid of me... even I'm afraid of me."

He dropped down to his knees in front of Frank, and looked up at Frank with tired eyes.

"I'm sorry. You've come so far to find me, and it's probably been hell for you, and I-I'm just ruining everything like I always do."

Frank wanted to argue that Percy wasn't ruining everything, but he was aware of just how tired he both probably was, and how this wasn't the kind of conversation to be having while you're half asleep.

"We should probably have this talk in the morning."

"...You're right," Percy agreed, "You take the bed, I'll-"

"No, you take the bed."

They stared each down for a while before Percy seemingly gave up, raising his arms to the ceiling and backing up.

"Fine, we'll just have to share the bed then."

Frank couldn't be bothered to argue.

"Okay."

Percy closed the curtains, cloaking the room in darkness once again. Frank tried not to knock anything over as we got his bag and got out his pyjamas. They both changed in silence and then stood before the bed, wondering who should get in first. Percy obviously got bored with this, as he just sighed and crawled up, pressing himself up against the wall. Frank got in after him, facing away from Percy, out into the dark room.

It was only as they both lying there in the darkness, their backs almost touching, that Frank realised just how ridiculously big the bed was for one exceptionally skinny person. For a second, he entertained the idea that Percy had girlfriends who he brought back here, or at the very least one night stands. But Percy didn't seem like that kind of guy and the thought made him uncomfortable, so he pushed it away and tried to fall asleep.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2: Natural Colours

He woke up in the morning to the smell of pancakes, and the sight of Percy busy at the cooker in a pair of boxer and a shirt that  hung off his shoulders. Frank hoped that those pancakes weren't just for him; Percy really needed to eat... and buy better fitting clothes too.

"Morning," Frank greeted, "Sleep well?"

It felt awkward asking that, and he was honestly surprised when he received a shrug in reply. He wasn't sure why, but he wasn't expecting Percy to actually answer.

"Not too bad. Mind you, I always sleep better when there's someone else around."

Frank's mind went back to the thought he had last night, and he suddenly couldn't hold back the urge to ask:

"Have you had many people sleeping in this bed with you?"

He felt stupid and intrusive as soon as the words came out of his mouth, after all it was Percy's business who he... spent his time with, and Frank shouldn't really care. But he did.

"Not many. A few girls, who stay for a night or two, or maybe a week if I'm lucky... and one guy."

Now that's news, Frank thought. Last time he checked, Percy Jackson only liked girls. But he tried not to act or sound too surprised; he didn't want Percy to think that he wasn't not okay with it after all.

"How long?"

"Officially, three months. Unofficially? Maybe a year."

"Gods."

"Yeah."

Percy walked over with two plates of pancakes, and handed the one over to Frank. Frank had a fair amount of his plate, while Percy only had two and even then he only picked at them. Frank wanted to tell Percy that he should eat, breakfast was the most important meal of the day after all, but he stopped himself. This was like talking to a stranger, and he wouldn't say that to a stranger, so he wouldn't say that to this Percy.

The pancakes did actually taste amazing, Frank found, but they weren't not blue. Frank distinctly remembered that Percy had a thing for making his food blue, so it was almost unnerving to see the pancakes being their natural colours. Was there any of Percy left inside this man?

"Why aren't they blue?"

"That... was a thing to special to me and my mum," Percy explained, "I don't feel it's right to just... do it for everyone, especially when they don't understand how important it was to us..."

Frank understood, but he still felt a bit hurt that he was now one of the 'they'. One of the 'everyone' who didn't understand Percy Jackson and where it all went... where it all changed.

So he decided to ask about the guy instead.

"So... I didn't know you liked guys."

"I didn't really either," he chuckled, "Looking back on it, I probably liked Luke and Beckendorf a bit more than what's normal for a straight kid, but still... I didn't expect it to happen, it just... did."

"How?"

Frank couldn't imagine Percy with anyone but Annabeth but weirdly enough, he could picture this man with another man. He could picture this man with anyone to be honest.

"For a while I tried to pick up random hobbies to try and keep my distracted and give me something to do... anyway, I became a lifeguard for a while and I met him there. He was a sweet guy - a son of Apollo as I later learnt - and he was determined to make me smile."

"Did he do it?"

For the first time in a while (or so it seems to Frank at least) Percy smiled. It was gentle and sweet and it warmed Frank down to his bones.

"He did... I didn't realise that he was flirting with me at first because, come on, look at me, I'm a mess. Who would want to bother with me?"

Frank held back the urge to say: me.

"I only realised that he liked me, and I liked him back, when he kissed for the first time. He'd spent the night over, watching films with me, and then we just... kissed. It was surprisingly nice, but it didn't all go smoothly though... I had a 'sexuality crisis' as he called it, and I couldn't drag myself out of the house to face him for nearly a month. Then, I got over it and we started to date."

"Why did it end?"

"He moved away," Percy shrugged as though he didn't care, "He found a good job and couldn't afford to let the opportunity slide by."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it was never going to last. It was just something new and nice, and I'm mostly over it anyway."

And suddenly, it clicked why Percy had gone especially silent lately. He'd been busy with his... boyfriend, and obviously didn't want to think about the camp and old friends which would all lead back to his old girlfriend. Not to mention, if he'd accidentally let it slip... that would be probably not be good for him.

"So you're bisexual?" Frank asked, trying to be casual. 

This wasn't a conversation he ever thought he'd be having with the Percy Jackson, so he thought it was fair if he didn't actually sound or act casual.

Percy nodded, and slowly began eating again. Frank copied him, and when they were done, they silently washed the dishes together. But something about it made Percy smile and chuckle to himself  and Frank, yet again, couldn't hold back.

"Why are you smiling?"

Frank thought that habit is going to kill him one day, and he blamed Hazel. She was always mothering over people, and asking if they're okay and inquiring about their lives. She had more tact then him, she'd probably be the better choice. Once again, he wondered why he was here instead of someone like her.

"This reminds of the mornings we'd spend together... all nice and peaceful."

Well at least Percy sees this as okay, Frank mused, at least he was reminding Percy of good times.

"You spent the mornings in silence? Wasn't that a bit awkward?"

"He was deaf."

And there goes the good mood, well done Frank.

"Sorry, I-"

"It's okay. You didn't know."

There was a certain grace to the way that Percy cut people off and changed their minds about what they were going to say. Frank wondered if Percy has always been able to do that, or if he learnt it from his years as a leader.

"He was only actually partially deaf - he could hear if he had his hearing aids in - but we both liked silence, so most of the time we stayed in silence... It was like this with Annabeth too," he added on quietly, "But it was never silent. We'd be having a fight with the soap suds and bickering, even though we were supposed to be cleaning up after dinner..."

Everything became melancholy instead of mellow, and Frank gently put his hand on the shoulder of the guilty man beside him. Percy sighed and leaned against Frank's strong arm, and Frank wondered if he did that with his boyfriend: leaned against his side when it all got a bit too much. He couldn't have done it with Annabeth after all; she was shorter than him.

"Please don't tell them about this. I don't want them to think that I gay and just using Annabeth as my beard this whole time, or that I realised that I was gay after dating her, or that I was holding back and now we're over I'm free to explore this part of myself, because that's not it. It just happened."

"I won't, I promise."

"...You're a great guy Frank. Thank you."

Frank felt himself blush, and had to look away from the warm figure who was leaning against him. Percy had always been a grand hero to Frank (and many others too) and it was only really when Frank became a leader himself that he began to recognise that Percy wasn't as untouchable as he seemed. He was always near his breaking point, but somehow always holding on and appearing like he was in control. Nearly everyone came to Percy, and Annabeth, for their problems because they were the fairytale heroes who would always save the day. Everyone admired them and looked up to them because they just seemed so perfect, but they weren't.

"T-Thank you," Frank mumbled, "You're not so bad yourself."

Percy grinned - it was only small, but it still made Frank's heart race a little - and walked away from the sink.

"Tell me, how you ever done gardening?"

It was an odd question, but Frank found himself nodding.

"Yeah."

"Good. I'm thinking of sorting out mine, and I'd like some help."

"Okay."

So they washed, and they changed, and got the equipment, and begin working. Meanwhile, Percy turned everything around and began asking about Frank.

"So what's changed in your life, Frank?"

It felt like the only question Percy could ask him right now. 'What's new' wouldn't have felt right, but 'what's changed does'. There wasn't any real difference between the questions, but Frank felt as though there was.

"Well... I teach archery to the newcomers now. That's nice. And I have a pet cat called Basil. And... Hazel and I are just friends."

It didn't hurt to register that they've broken up, but he didn't really want to focus on breakups with Percy Jackson.

"You did get together a bit too young and a bit too late for it to really last," Percy decided, "Have either of you found anyone else yet?"

"No, we're both still single... but we decided to live together, just as friends."

He didn't know why he felt the need to say that when he just told Percy that they broke up, but he didn't know why he had said a lot of the things he did. His heart always raced around Percy, and he never knew how to be calm and collected. He never understood how anyone could act casual around Percy Jackson, it seemed like an impossible feat.

"That must be nice... I lived with Rachel for a while but my nightmares kept her up... she insisted that it was fine, but I hated the fact that I was making her miserable too."

"I'm sure you weren't."

"I was."

He sounded and looked so sure of himself that it hurt. Percy shouldn't have to be sure of such a horrible thing. But Frank didn't know how to help, so he avoided trying altogether.

"...When did you get into gardening?" 

"A year ago."

"Why?"

Frank felt like a kid, constantly asking their parent to explain the world to them. Childish. He was being childish. But he didn't know what else to do. There was no manual on how to talk to your friend that disappeared for a few years and changed a lot in those years after all.

Percy closed his eyes and relaxed and like this, with dirt underneath his nails and the sun on his face, he looked like a god. When people talked about someone looking like a 'Greek god', Frank immediately thought of Percy, and this proved that was an appropriate reaction. 

Frank had to look away.

"I can feel the water in the leaves and soil and roots. I feel it roll off the petals and I can feel it move and change, and it's the on thing I can focus on for hours without getting too bored. When I do this... I don't feel as dead."

Dread ran through Frank, and he swallowed back his fear and tears. Percy shouldn't have to feel like this. He wanted to hug him, but Percy looked content and he was afraid to ruin it.

"I hate myself sometimes," I continued, "I hate myself for hating other people just for being happy. I hate myself for being jealous of Rachel and Reyna, Nico and Will... they don't deserve it, but when I see how happy and secure they are... it just reminds me of how lonely I am. How pathetic I am. How dead I am."

"Y-You're not." Frank had to stop, because the tears are running down his face.

"I am," Percy insisted, "And now I'm fucking up again, aren't I? But making you feel shit... Gods... Frank, just go."

He didn't want to, not really, but he still found himself turning around and heading back inside. Frank wasn't sure how long he cried for, mourning the person he used to know and desperately wishing he knew how to help that person in the garden. And so after calming down somewhat, he decided to call the only person who he really trusted to talk to about this.

It didn't take long for her to appear, and Frank took a second to admire her.

Her hair had been tied back but wisps and curls had escaped, framing her face, and purple paint was scattered around her dark skin. She stuck her tongue out ever so slightly and frowned, trying to perfect her latest artwork.

She was beautiful, but Frank didn't feel the butterflies he used to and he was grateful for that. They made better friends then partners if he was honest.

He waited until she put down her brush to speak.

"Hazel?"

She turned around and a bright smile took over her face. It was quite blinding.

"Frank! How's it going? Have you found him yet?"

"I'm in his house right now."

"Well, where is he?"

She looked around eagerly, trying to catch sight of Percy, and Frank's heart broke a little. Hazel had always talked about Percy like he was her strong older brother, who'd protect her no matter what and always find a way to save the day... so Frank wasn't too too eager to tell her the truth.

"I don't know."

"What do you mean? You're in his house, you have to know where he is."

"Well physically, he's out in the garden but mentally... I don't know where he is."

The smile slipped off her face, and was replaced with a look of confusion.

"W-What do you mean?"

"He's not okay Hazel. He's too skinny, he's not eating properly and he... he honestly looks and sounds dead."

"Gods..."

She held her hands close to her heart, and Frank knew that it was killing her to hear all this. But she had to know. 

"I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help him. I don't even think I know who he is anymore."

"...I could talk to Nico, and try to convince him to go there and talk to Percy-"

"No!"

That shocked Frank as much Hazel, but as soon as it was said, he knew that it was true. Nico was most definitely not the right person to help Percy right now. The last thing he needed was Nico hanging around and reminding him of the boy he failed, and the boy who used to love him. Besides, Nico didn't seem okay with Percy at the moment.

"No, I don't think that'd be good. For either of them."

"You're right," she sighed, "Maybe I could talk to Will? At the very least he could give you some advice on how to help Percy gain back some weight."

"That'd be great thanks."

He knew that he could easily call Will up himself, but he was not sure that it was a good idea. He wouldn't mind if Percy walked in on him talking to Hazel, but if Percy found him talking to Will then he'd know what they were talking about straight away. Percy wasn't stupid after all.

"...Are you sure you're okay doing this alone?" Hazel asked after some time of silence. It was tentative and gentle, but it still made Frank wince. Like him, she didn't know why it came down to him. "I can come if you want."

"I think that'd be too much for him to handle right now... maybe you can come later, but for now, I think it should just be me."

"Okay... well, I have to finish up this painting before the end of the day, so I better say goodbye; Rachel said she'd put it in gallery."

"That's great news Hazel! I'm happy for you."

And that was true. It was nice to have some good news amongst all the bad.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, "I'll see you soon Frank, good luck."

"Bye."

Frank hopped she'd be able to come visit soon.


	3. Chapter 3: Milkshakes

Percy wasn't in the garden when Frank finally went out again, and he tried not to panic.

He probably went to go get groceries or something, he'll be back soon, Frank told himself. But it still unnerved him to lose Percy after spending so long trying to find him.

It'd taken a bit longer than anyone liked to admit to realise that the postcards Percy had been sending told everyone exactly where he was, or at least what country he was in. They said quietly clearly that he was in Greece, far out of the reach of the gods, which made sense. Now that Frank thought about it, it made sense that Mercury had (after some bribing) told Frank exactly where Percy was, all the way down to the address, without even needing to think about it. Frank came thought that Mercury's Greek counterpart had a bit of a soft spot when it came to Percy, and probably wanted someone to go and check on how Percy was doing.

Frank wondered if he'd be asked to send a report on how Percy was to the others, or if they just expected him to do it as soon as he found Percy. He knew that he probably should have let everyone know that both he and Percy were, at the very least, still alive, but he didn't want to risk everyone coming over to check on him, and overwhelming him. And Frank certainly didn't want Piper to either purposely or accidentally report all that back to Annabeth. That was unlikely though considering how desperate Annabeth was to push away everyone from both camps; even if Piper did tell her, she'd probably just ignore it all.

"I know they say you should smell the roses, but I think doing that for five minutes straight is a bit extreme, don't you think?"

When he came back to the real world, he saw Percy in front of him, holding groceries. He was not smiling, but there was a certain fondness to his words, and a warmth in his eyes.

"S-Sorry, I kind of fazed out for a second."

"Don't worry, I do that all the time," Percy shrugged, "I sometimes can't snap out of it for hours..."

Frank didn't give him time to think about that.

"Need some help with those?"

"I wouldn't mind some, thanks."

He wondered if Percy would have answered that way when he was twelve, or whether he would have been determined to carry them all himself. Frank liked to think that Percy would have asked for help, or at least let other people help him.

So he took half of the groceries and helped put them away too. And then he was lost on what to do, and what to say.

"Do anything interesting while I was gone?" Percy asked, no enthusiasm in his voice. Frank appreciated the effort nevertheless.

"...I called Hazel."

"How is she?"

Percy sat down on the sofa, and Frank sat down beside him. He was kind of hungry, and he hoped that they were eating soon, but he didn't want to seem rude, so he waited.

"Good. She's getting one of her paintings put up in Rachel's new gallery."

"Rachel was talking about that when I was living with her," Percy mused, "I'm glad she got around to it."

He didn't sound glad, but Frank decided not to point that out.

"Piper told me that Drew's getting some dresses she'd designed put in there too."

"I thought everyone hated Drew."

"Everyone did. But she changed."

"...I didn't hate her."

"You didn't?"

"She only got that way after Silena. She just wanted to protect herself and the others, and her way just happened to be the wrong way... besides, she was pretty nice to me when I first came to camp. She was close to William, and I spent a lot of my time in the... hospital bit in camp, so I knew they both quite well."

"William? Don't you mean Will?"

"...Shit."

Percy groaned and covered his face, folding in on himself. Frank didn't hesitate to hug him this time.

"What?"

Gods, he was so skinny, Frank realisesd with horrifying clarity, he  could feel this ribs...

"I can't even remember my friend's name properly, I'm such a fuck up Frank!"

"It was just a mistake Percy," he insisted, "I forget people's names all the time."

"Yeah, of people you don't know well. I can't remember fucking Will's proper name, and I've know him for years! I can't even fucking remember his last name!"

"Percy! It's okay! Calm down!"

Too late. Percy was hyperventilating, he was crying, he was screaming, he was kicking.

He was having a panic attack.

Frank immediately let go of him, and tried to work out how he can help without making things worse. He knew a lot of people don't like being touched when they're having panic attacks, so that was out the window. Gods, he'd had classes on this. He should remember what they told him!

"Percy. Do you need me to go?"

Percy didn't answer, so Frank stayed despite the fact that he had no idea what he was doing.

"It's okay. Breathe. It's okay Percy. These things happen. It's not your fault. Will wouldn't care. It's fine."

It felt like centuries before Percy calmed down enough to speak again, and when he did, Frank almost wishes he hadn't. His voice was hoarse and his words were drowning in sadness.

"It's not fine. It's not okay. And it hasn't been for a while."

"...Can I-"

"Yes."

Frank once again wrapped his arms around Percy and held him close. He quite liked this, because it reassured him that Percy was still definitely there and definitely alive. If he could, he didn't think he'd ever let go.

"I-I'm sorry you had to see that," Percy sniffed.

"Please don't apologise, it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah, it's the fault of my fucked up head instead... ADHD, dyslexia, PTSD, anxiety, depression...  Fuck. I don't know. I haven't been officially diagnosed. I didn't want to know..."

Hearing the list only makes Frank hug him tighter. Gods, Frank knew he has his problems (bad body dysphoria, and the likes) but Percy... He was quite astonished that Percy is still alive. He was not quite sure that he could fight to keep alive if he was going through that hell storm of a life.

"How can I help you Percy? What can I do?"

"I don't know... I'm getting better though."

"Really? This doesn't seem like you're getting better. This seems more like you're spiralling into-"

Frank cut himself off before he said something he'd regret.

"Trust me, I'm better than I was."

Percy rubbed the inside of his wrist, and Frank could feel anger and sadness bubbling up inside him. He wondered why he didn't come sooner, or why no one ever bothered to go after Percy. Maybe if they had, this wouldn't have happened. Maybe Percy would be okay.

"...Is there anywhere nice to go for dinner around here?" Frank found himself asking.

They both needed to eat after all, but he couldn't cook well (Hazel was the queen of their kitchen, and he was not allowed in there) and he didn't want to make Percy cook for him again, so it sounded like a good option.

"There's this small place," Percy said, "It's more of a 'kid friendly' bar then anything, but it's nice... the owners are Australian so it's Australian themed, and they serve nice milkshakes."

"Great, we should go there."

Percy gave him a hard look, like he didn't know quite why Frank was suggesting such a thing.

"It's lunchtime Percy, we need food... or at least I think it is."

There were no clocks in the room so he checked his watch, and Frank discovered that he was right. It was definitely time for food.

"Okay," Percy sighed, "I'm not hungry, but I guess I'll come with you. Should we shower first though? We both don't smell the best."

Percy showered first, and he came out fully dressed in a sky blue silky shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, with white shorts and Frank thought he looked gorgeous.

"Your turn, Panda Bear."

The nickname made Frank blush and incredibly confused.

"Panda Bear?"

"You're cuddly and sweet like Pandas," Percy shrugged, "And Panda Bear sounds better than just Panda."

"O-Okay."

Frank practically ran into the bathroom, far away from Percy and his confusing yet sweet nicknames. The hot water helped him relax, but not as much as he'd like and all too soon he was drying himself off and getting changed. He put a little more effort than he should into his look, and convinced himself that it was just because he wanted to try and look as good as Percy.

When he came out, he was struck still by the casual way that Percy's eyes ran over his body. It made his heart beat faster, and he couldn't tell whether it wa out of embarrassment or... something else.

Finally, Percy's eyes met his, and Percy smiled. But it felt like it was just to reassure Frank that he saw nothing bad, and not because he didn't like what he saw.

"You clean up nicely Frank. I didn't really take you for one to dress all posh like."

"It's a special occasion."

And he was being honest, so he could say that without feeling too uncomfortable.

But they stood there and looked at each other for a while longer, and Frank noticed some things he didn't before. Like the piercings in Percy's ear and tongue (he tried to avoid thinking about that one), the tattoos which were just barely visible beneath his clothes, and the longer, curlier style of his hair. Before, he had it cut too short for it to really curl out, but this style suited him better Frank believed. Frank thought he was... beautiful. It was a strange word to use for a man, but it was the only one that fully justified how Percy Jackson looked in just one word.

"Should we go then?" Percy asked.

"Okay."

The walk was casual and slow - Percy would stop to say hello to lone people he obviously knew, to pet the abundance of cats that seem to be following him, and to point out random landmarks to Frank - but it was nice. Frank felt more like he was on a tour then walking to a restaurant to get food with an old friend, but he knew it was going to feel this weird between them for a long while. They had both changed too much for it not to.

Eventually they stopped outside a fairly busy place called Crocodile Dundee. Frank shot Percy a curious look, to which the reply was a shrug as the doors were opened.

To be fair, it was quite a nice place with a good atmosphere, and the owners seem to know Percy well.

"Perseus!" The woman behind the bar exclaimed. "Hello!"

She was speaking perfect English, which Frank couldn't help but appreciate, and she brought a (fake) smile onto Percy's face.

"Hey Donna, how's life?"

They chatted for a bit before the woman - Donna - realised that she should take their orders and did so. Percy tried to get away with ordering nothing, but Donna wouldn't have any of that.

"Perseus, I am making sure you eat if it's the last thing I do!" Donna yelled before suddenly becoming nice and sweet again. "And that milkshake love, are you sharing that with your boyfriend?"

Frank was the one to go red and dramatically insist that he wasn't dating Percy, while Percy was the one to take it casually.

"We're not dating, but a bigger milkshake would be nicer, so sure. We're sharing."

How someone can be so easy about it, Frank didn't know, especially if that person is Percy 'I'm So Straight' Jackson. But of course, Frank knew that was far from the truth.

"Coming right up, sweetie!"

When she left, Percy immediately turned to Frank, and gently placed his slimmer, darker hand on top of Frank's lager, paler hand. It was a nice contrast, Frank noticed, and Percy's hand felt quite nice. His palm was rough and no doubt scarred, but his fingertips felt smooth and warm.

"Relax; Donna didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. She just assumed that we were dating because the last person I brought here was him, my ex boyfriend... I think she thinks that I'm gay."

"R-Right."

"Are you sure that you're okay?"

"Yeah."

Percy removed his hand, and Frank tried to work out why that made him feel so disappointed.


	4. Chapter 4: Flirting Habits

The food was good, the atmosphere was mellow, so why did Frank feel like it was all wrong?

Perhaps it was because of the too old cartoon that was playing on the tv (no subtitles and no sound) or maybe it was because of how empty it had gotten over time (leaving only a gaggle of conspiring teenagers behind) or maybe it was because of how Percy seemed to be avoiding Frank.

Percy was leaning against the counter a little way away from Frank, chatting casually with a waitress. The girl was leaning forward and battering her eyes at him, so obviously flirting with him, and that annoyed Frank somewhat. She seemed fake, someone who Percy shouldn't waste him time on but was wasting time on. He was flirting back with her, although it perhaps wasn't obvious to anyone else who didn't know Percy well.

See, Frank had always been an observational person, and over the years had observed every sign that showed that Percy Jackson was interested in someone romantically (and that someone had always been Annabeth, whom he liked to flirt with even after dating her for years). Frank wrote them down too (he liked writing down certain actions and reactions that people had, and then using copying the ones he really liked in real life) so he knew when Percy Jackson was flirting.

These were the sighs:

*He stretched quite a bit (well, more than usually he did. He used to have a really good figure after all that he showed off. He wasn't doing it this time though)

<  
*He spoke quietly, in a low, breathy sort of way that could send the right person's heart racing

*He leaned forward just enough for sexual tension to be created (but not enough for it to get uncomfortable)

*He usually found some reason to touch the other person's hand, arm or shoulder

*And he bit and licked his lips more than usual

And Percy was doing most of these things as he talked to the girl but weirdly enough, he didn't smile the whole time. His flirting style may have been subtle, but not that subtle. Percy knew to smile, and he had always liked smiling; he was a smiley person. Or at least he used to be. But even so, why wasn't he smiling while he was flirting?

He came back after some time and sat close to Frank; close enough that their thighs were touching. Frank didn't know why he was so okay with that. In the end, he put it down to the fact that Percy's thigh were nice and warm, and they felt nice against his own.

"Sorry about that," Percy sighed, "That's Donna's girl, so I have to be nice to her."

"Nice doesn't mean flirt," Frank huffed.

"What?"

"You weren't being nice, you were flirting."

When Percy frowned and tilted his head, Frank realised that he's said too much. Percy was flirting style was subtle, so anyone who knew that he was flirting had obviously looked closer than most would. But that was not a normal thing for friends to notice, especially if they were both men.

"How would you-"

"'Ere's your stuff boys!" Donna interrupted, and Frank felt as though he could kiss her.

They ate in silence, but Percy didn't seem to find it uncomfortable. He seemed to be fine with watching the wordless show, perhaps making up what the characters were saying in his head to create a whole new story. Frank however, couldn't relax. How could he? He was sitting next to someone who used to be his friend, and he somehow had to try and convince them to come back to camp before his time limit ran out.

Oh yeah, Frank remembered with dread, he had a deadline. It was Jason's idea if he remembered correctly, Jason who had always had a rocky relationship with Percy and wanted to try and create a better one. If Frank couldn't convince Percy to come back to one of the camps in a month, Frank would leave and someone else would come and have a go instead. But Frank knew that it was really all on him. If Percy wouldn't listen to Frank, why would he listen to anyone else? At this point, Frank wasn't sure if Piper, even with her charmspeak, could convince Percy Jackson to come back.

"You alright Frank? You look a little worked up."

Frank jumped a mile, but it wasn't because of those words. It was because of the warm hand on his arm that truly shocked him into reality. Percy immediately backed off, looking a little confused and hurt, and Frank wonder why such a small thing made him jump. Especially when he liked that small thing.

"I'm okay, just... just lost in thought."

"Is it about whoever sent you here?"

Once again, Frank was reminded that Percy wasn't an idiot. But at this moment in time, Frank wished Percy really were the big idiot that everyone painted him out to be.

"Come on Frank, I know who didn't come here just for a holiday with me. I know you've been sent here to bring me back to the camp."

"No one sent me here," Frank tried to lie.

It didn't work. Percy just lifted an eyebrow and pursed his lips, and Frank tried to understand why he suddenly felt so hot and stupid.

"...Fine. You came here of your own free will," Percy sighed, "But you still came to bring me back, didn't you? You can't deny that."

"No I can't," Frank answered in a small voice, looking down at his lap.

He expected Percy to just get up and leave after that, which he would understand. If he had moved away with the intention of never coming back, he wouldn't appreciate anyone trying to do exactly that. But strangely enough, Percy didn't leave. He sighed deeply, sounding very annoyed, but he didn't leave.

Percy gently tipped Frank's head up so Frank was looking at him, and Frank was awe struck by the beauty of Percy's eyes. Everyone always said that Percy's best features were his eyes (even Nico, when he got exceptionally drunk once) and Frank could see why. Looking into them was like looking into an ocean, and you never wanted to look away.

But even so, Frank disagreed. To him, Percy's best feature would always be his kind heart. It wasn't physical, but it didn't need to be physical to be his best feature.

"Frank, I'm not mad at you. If I had been, I would have kicked you out yesterday. I mean, am I mad that they've resorted to sending people here to try and convince me to come back, even when I said that I'd come back in my own time? Yes. Am I annoyed that no one else cared enough, or were too scared to come alone with you or instead of you? Yes. But am I angry with you, who's been nothing but sweet this whole time? Of course not."

Frank couldn't help but feel flattered. And although it felt slightly strange to be one of the only few people who Percy wasn't mad at, he appreciated it greatly too. He'd never really known if Percy had liked him because they hadn't had enough time to really become good friends, so he was happy to know that Percy thought he was 'sweet'.

"Also," Percy continued, "I'm going to tell you something you can tell the others, but I'd prefer you not to."

"Okay," Frank answered a bit too quickly.

"...I was planning on going back at the end of the month anyway."

"Really?"

Percy leaned back at this point and nodded his head. He looked strangely flustered, like he just shared some big secret which was stupid, because Frank was pretty sure that the 'I'm not straight' thing was a bigger deal than the 'I'm coming home soon' thing. But oh well.

"I would have come back a few years ago if it weren't for my 'sexuality crisis'," Percy explained, "But now that he's gone, and I don't have much else to do, I figured I might as well come back."

"Oh..."

Frank didn't quite know what to do with information.

"But I don't want to go now," Percy told him, "I said at the end of the month, because I'm going to need a month or so to psyche myself up for this."

"...So, do you want me to go?"

That seemed the logical response to Frank. If Percy was coming back anyway, why did he need to stick around? Frank didn't want to go - he quite liked the idea of having an opportunity to get closer to Percy with no distractions - but he didn't see much point in sticking around.

"No way," Percy snorted like Frank just said something incredibly stupid, "I need someone around just in case I try to chicken out at the last second."

Frank was both happy and a little hurt by that answer.

"Okay."

"Besides, it nice having you around. You're... you're a really calming person to be around, you know? I always feel a bit more relaxed when you're around."

And that made all the hurt disappear.

"Really? Because I've not even been here a full 24 hours, and you've already had a panic attack."

"Shit like that always happens to be, it's not your fault, it would have happened even if someone else came."

"If you say so."

"Look, you may not believe it, but you are a good person to be around. I mean, I haven't slept properly in weeks, but you come along and I finally have good nights sleep."

"Yeah, well that would have happened even if someone else came," Frank argued. 

He didn't know why he was arguing though, considering that he felt happy that he actually did something food for Percy. Percy didn't seem to understand it either, but was determined not to back down.

"No one else would have shared the bed with me," Percy deadpanned, "Most of the guys would think it was 'gay', most of the girls would have been uncomfortable sharing a bed with a guy, and I'm sure that even if those two things weren't a problem, people still wouldn't want to share a bed with me."

"Why not?"

Frank realised just as he said that that there were a number of reasons why people wouldn't want to a share a bed with Percy Jackson (and even more reasons why they would) but it was a bit too late to take that back.

"Who wants to share a bed with a guy who has bad nightmares? And has a habit of getting quite violent during those nightmares?"

"Violent? What do you mean?"

"Frank, I can bloodbend. I make people's hearts stop beating, making their blood stop pumping around their body, and I can make them drop dead in five seconds. Who would be stupid enough to spend a night with a guy who can do that accidentally in his sleep?"

Percy directed a pointed stare at him, and Frank tried not to be intimidating. It was hard though, especially after hearing all those things Percy can do. Was that one of the reasons why Annabeth and Percy broke up? Because he accidentally did it once? Or was it because she was afraid that he might do that?

Frank shook that thought away, and tried to think of something to say.

"But doesn't that always mean that you can stop people from bleeding out too much? Like you can keep the blood in their body? That you can keep the blood pumping? That you can keep their heart beating?"

Percy blinked wide eyed, and Frank wondered if Percy ever tried to see the good in his powers. Or if anyone else tried to. He could be a good demigod doctor if he really put his heart to it, and could help Will out in the camp or go on quests as a medic. Frank could picture this man in the hospital working with Will, holding onto someone's hand as he kept them alive and promised that they'll be fine. He could picture him making shapes out of water to entertain the younger demigods and calm them down as Will sorted them out. But he couldn't imagine Percy killing anyone with this power.

"I-I guess that's something I can do?" Percy said in shock. "I never thought about it before, but yeah, I suppose I can do that..."

"See? There's always a positive hidden behind a negative," Frank sighed with relief, "You just have to look for it."

Percy chuckled and shook his head, smiling fondly at Frank.

"You're such a great guy Frank, thanks again."

Frank couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.


	5. Chapter 5: Dairy Free

Frank was the first one to wake up the next morning, and he was really grateful for that.

Because he was spooning Percy. 

It seemed that during the night, Frank accidentally ended up rolling over and hugging up Percy from behind. Frank knew that it was an accident, and probably not that big of a deal, but that didn't stop him from blushing bright red and immediately jumping away from Percy... only to land uncomfortably on the cold floor.

"Owch," he mumbled as sat up.

For a second, he paused to look at Percy, and was amazed at how different he looked. His features were relaxed, and while Percy definitely didn't look happy, he didn't look upset either. He just looked calm...

Frank looked away before he had time to process how that made him feel.

He decided to try and make breakfast for them both, since Percy did it last time. Frank couldn't cook much, but even he could scrape up something edible for them both... probably. As he looked through Percy's fridge, he was surprised to find that it looked like a mini vegan shop. There was no meat, lots of vegtables and lots of dairy free things.

Though that would explain why Frank was okay with the pancakes Percy made the other day - in retrospect, Frank really should have asked if they were dairy free, but he was so used to Hazel making dairy free food for him that he didn't even think about it - and the milkshake in the restaurant. After all, if Percy wasn't having dairy at home, he wouldn't have it out either, so the milkshake must have been dairy free. Again, Frank felt like slapping himself for being such an idiot and not checking beforehand.

"What you looking for?"

Percy's voice came out more as a low growl than normal, and it made Frank's heart race.

"B-Breakfast," Frank said before licking his lips and trying again, "I was looking for something to make for breakfast since you made it last time... what's with all the vegan stuff by the way?"

"Rachel," he said as though that explained everything, "They say you pick up habits from the people you live with, and I guess I picked up on Rachel's vegan habits after a while. It wad hard to get used to, but I was never a big fan of eating meat anyway. Especially fish."

"Oh right," Frank nodded.

"You're okay with that? I don't want to like, force my eating habits on you when I make dinner or anything."

"No no, I'm vegan too. I mean, as someone who can change into any animal, it kind of feels like cannibalism whenever I eat meat."

"Same here with fish."

Percy got up and stretched out like a cat before swaying over to Frank.

"Don't have much in there for breakfast though, or for you at least. I doubt you'll 'approve' of my average breakfast."

Frank didn't quite understand what Percy meats by that, until Percy opened the freezer and pulled a pot of dairy free chocolate ice cream. He closed the door with his hip, and got two spoons out before flopping back onto the bed.

Frank didn't like judging people, but he couldn't help but judge Percy now. That was just not a healthy breakfast... and yet he ended up walking over to Percy, taking the other spoon and sharing the ice cream with him.

He still gave Percy a look though.

"Blame Rachel," Percy huffed, "This is another one of her habits. Reyna doesn't approve of it though, so she only gets to really do it when she comes here and technically 'on holiday'."

"Wahb, wa?" Frank asked with a mouthful of ice cream. Then he swallowed it - cringing a bit since he was not a fan of the fake chocolate flavour - and tried again. "What do you mean 'when she comes here'?"

"Rachel and Reyna come about once a month," Percy answered with a frown, "Didn't they tell you? I mean, I asked them not too but I doubted they'd actually listen to me."

"No. They never told us... we all thought they only talked to you through the one-way postcards."

"No... they come over and they call once or twice a week too. I keep telling them that they don't need to, but that doesn't stop them."

They fell silent, and Frank tried to work everything out in his mind.

On the one hand, it explained why they never seemed particularly worried about Percy, and why neither of them felt any real need to go out and convince him to come back; he probably told them what he was planning. But on the other...

"Why wouldn't they tell us that?" Frank quietly questioned. "It doesn't make any sense... it would have meant that we worried less about you..."

"But maybe they were right."

Frank frowned at Percy.

"How?"

"Maybe they thought if everyone knew that they could find me, everyone else would try to find me. I'd probably get overwhelmed and angry. I might move again, and not let anyone find me that time. Everything could have gone wrong."

Frank couldn't deny that it made sense, but he was still contacting Reyna later and asking just what made her think that it was okay to keep such a big secret from them all.

They fell silent and finished off the ice cream. Frank was still hungry afterwards though, and ended up stealing an apple or two while Percy was getting washed and changed. And then, Percy was off; he had a job at a local cat adoption centre calming the cats down, since they all seem to like him to much. Apparently it was because he smelt like the sea, and the cats love that... despite hating water... cats were weird, Frank thought.

This did give Frank time to call Reyna though, which he was grateful for.

He went through the familiar process that he could do with his eyes closed, and found himself watching Reyna and Rachel discuss the arrangements for the opening night of Rachel's gallery,  in their polka dot pyjamas.

"There needs to be a colour theme," Reyna insisted with a fond smile, "We can't just have multicoloured paper plates; it doesn't look sophisticated."

Rachel stubbornly shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Fuck sophisticated, it's an art gallery Rey! There doesn't need to be a colour scheme. Art is all about self expression, and my self expresses hatred towards colour schemes. We're making the paper plates multicoloured fuck it, and people will love it!"

Reyna threw back her back and laughed, while Rachel literally patted herself on the back for making her girlfriend laugh. They looked so comfortable together, lounging about in their kitchen while sun shone in, and Frank couldn't help but be jealous. Sure, he could do that with Hazel, but it wasn't the same.

He shook his head and focused on the situation at hand. Frank felt awkward for interrupting, but he knew he has to. He had a bone to pick with these two after all.

"Morning Reyna, morning Rachel."

He knew Rachel quite well now thanks to her moving to Camp Jupiter to live with Reyna after passing on the responsibility of being the oracle onto another. They went out now and then to try and find the best places to get the food that they can actually eat, but Hazel usually came along so she could actually keep the conversation going. Frank wasn't the best at talking to people one on one anyway, so he never had a problem with that.

"Oh, morning Frank," Reyna greeted with a frown, "It's a little early to be calling isn't it?"

"Probably," Frank shrugged, "Anyway, I think there's something we need to talk about..."

They both immediately sat up straight and gave each other a look, which told Frank that they knew exactly what they need to talk about. Good, he thought, at least I don't have to explain it.

"Percy told you, aye?" Rachel said with a sigh. She didn't look Frank in the eye, instead focusing on tracing the rim of her mug. That didn't bode well to Frank. "I was kind of hoping that it wouldn't come up."

"Did you tell anyone at all?" Frank asked. "Or didn't you trust anyone?"

"...No," she answered eventually, "We didn't tell anyone. But for gods sake, blame me not Reyna. She only found out about this a few months back, and I begged her not to tell anyone."

"Rachel-" Reyna tried to interrupt. Rachel wouldn't have it.

"No, it's not your fault. In fact... would you mind going? You don't have to get involved with this."

They shared another long look before Reyna nodded.

"Fine. I'll go. But if I hear shouting I'm coming right back in, got it?"

She didn't wait for an answer. She just got up, waved to Frank, kissed Rachel's cheek and then left. Rachel waited until the door had fully shut to turn back to Frank.

"I did it for his own good," she said.

"How was keeping everyone away from him 'for his own good'? Wouldn't it been better to let people come and see him? To talk to him? To try and sort things out?"

"You wouldn't understand Frank, you weren't there," she sighed, "Even when it was just us two sharing an flat, it was like we were constantly waiting for a bomb to go on. Everything I did, everything I said, and even the things I didn't do and say reminded him of her. Reminded him of where he'd been with her. He couldn't stand being around anyone who reminded him. A-And he was so terrified of people being around him when he was having nightmares, and panic attacks... he would never let me help."

She held tightly onto her mug as tears start pouring down her face, and Frank stopped feeling angry with her immediately. She generally did what she thought would be best for Percy, it wasn't out of spite or anything... and who knows, maybe she was right, he muses.

"H-He couldn't stand anyone seeing him break down, couldn't stand anyone knowing just how fucked up he really was... he always thinks he's got to be there for people, doesn't he? He doesn't like to like people know when it's all too much... I never wanted him to leave, but then one night he was having a nightmare and I-I only wanted to help... I just tried to hold his hand and... he nearly killed me."

Despite the shining sun, everything went cold.

"Nearly k-killed you?"

The words stuck in his throat and were hard to swallow. In those earlier years Percy seemed so in control, but now after hearing this... how could they ever think that he was okay?

"I-It was on accident, I swear, h-he didn't mean it," she insisted through her tears, "He was s-so scared and angry, and accidentally... h-he accidentally stopped all the blood from running through my body. H-He wouldn't touch me when he woke up. He just got up, packed and ran out the house. I-It took too long to track him down, to convince him that it was safe to be around him... I didn't want to risk that happening again. No matter what the cost, that couldn't happen again."

Frank wiped away his own and tried to relax. Thank god he'd asked Percy if to was okay to touch him when he was having that panic attack. He could only imagine what might have happened if he didn't.

"I'm sorry Rachel."

"It's okay," she lied and shrugged, "And it seems quite... possessive and weird if you don't know the full story. But I really only wanted to do what I thought would be best for him, and I thought that was it."

"...I think you were right."

"Really?"

"Yeah... I think he needed time to himself to work everything out."

"Thanks... you won't tell anyone, will you?"

"No. I won't."

"Thank you... so see you later?"

"Sure."

He said goodbye, and slouched completely against the sofa. Gods, he mused this is going to make things a little more awkward around Percy. Great. Just Brilliant.


	6. Chapter 6: B

After a walk to calm himself down before facing Percy again, he came across a strange sight.

Percy, kneeling on the floor, trying to reach for something under the bed.

It took Frank a while to notice that he was starring at Percy's... behind, and immediately pinched himself while he blushed. He really needed to stop doing stuff like that; it was awkward enough when it happened with Jason, and Leo caught him. It was all just an accident, but it still made him feel awful. He hated making people uncomfortable, and was thankful that Leo didn't make a deal about it.

"Come on out B, nothing's going to hurt you," Percy cooed.

B? Who's B? Frank thought. Was there some monster shaped like a B down there? He knew that was unlikely, but as a demigod you just sort of accept that exceptionally weird things happen and get on with it.

"Um, who are you talking to?"

"Shit!"

Percy tried to sit up, whacked his head on the edge of the bed, and turned to glare at Frank. Immediately, Frank felt awful. Not only was he starring at Percy, but now he had made Percy hurt himself. Brilliant.

"Dude. Don't sneak up on me like that," he snapped.

"I'm sorry."

"I know, just forget about it, I shouldn't have snapped at you" Percy huffed, "What did you ask by the way?"

"Who are you talking to?"

"B."

"Who's B?"

Instead of answering, Percy just gestured for Frank to sit next to him and look under the bed. So he did. And he found himself looking at a cat crouched against the wall, starring at him with one crystal blue eye.

It was a Russian blue, and not the healthiest looking thing. In fact, it looks quite a bit like Percy, Frank mused. It looked like it's seen a few fights and is worse for wear; it was no wonder that Percy had chosen this one to adopt.

"Ah, right," Frank says, "Is B short for anything?"

"Blue," Percy answered with a frown, "But that doesn't matter. What matters is that he won't come out... I think you scared him."

Wasn't that the name of Percy's little sister? Frank thought. Blue Blowfis?

"...Isn't that your sister's name?"

"Yeah, which is why I call him B."

"Oh... wait, me? I scared him?"

Frank wanted to say that out of the two of them, Percy was clearly the more terrifying, but held back. He didn't think Percy would appreciate that.

"You're built like a bear Frank, of course you scared him," was Percy's quiet reply, "...I think I can convince him to come out, but you'll need to stay far back."

Frank was already backing up before Percy even finished his sentence. Percy flashed him a thankfully smile, and Frank tried to remember how to breathe properly. It took a while for Percy to get the poor thing out, but he managed it eventually. The obviously terrified cat was curled up in Percy's arms, and Percy happily cooed over him.

"It's alright B, nothing to be afraid of, everything is fine..."

His voice is quieter and higher pitched than normal, but it still sounded quite nice Frank thought. Percy sits on the sofa, and once B has completely relaxed, Percy gestured for Frank to come over.

"Be slow so you don't scare him," he told Frank.

"How about I shift into a cat?" Frank suggested. "I might be able to calm him down better that way."

"Go for it."

Frank changed into a Birman, and hopped onto the sofa next to Percy. In retrospect, he should have changed into a smaller cat so he wouldn't be as threatening, but his own cat was a Birman so it was the first one to pop into his mind.

"Oh my gods you're adorable as a cat," Percy cooed. He reached out to pet Frank, and Frank tried to hold back on purring like an idiot. Frank failed. "You even purr? Gods, that's so cute!"

B climbed out of Percy's arms and slowly walked up to Frank, inspecting him thoroughly. After some time, B strolled back into Percy's lap and relaxed. So the cat likes me now, Frank thought, I can change back now.

Except he couldn't. Because Percy was holding him in his arms, and hugging the life out of Frank.

"You're so cute," he mumbled against Frank's fur, "Any way that I could convince you to stay like this forever? At least when we go to sleep?"

Frank didn't quite know how to explain that he was actually perfectly okay with that, so just awkwardly licked Percy's hand. Percy misunderstood it.

"Okay, okay, I'll put you down. No need to attack me with your sandpaper tongue."

He put Frank down and Frank changed back. He was sure he was blushing away, and that was confirmed by the fact that Percy was awkwardly chuckling.

"Sorry, didn't mean to embarrass you."

"I-It's fine. It's not like Hazel hasn't done that a thousand times before," Frank shrugged.

"Well if it's any consolation, you really do make a cute cat."

"Shut up."

"And a pretty cute human too."

"W-What?"

Percy just bit his lip and began fussing over B. Rather than deal with that like a normal human being, Frank turned back into a cat and curled up against Percy's thigh. It was quite nice actually, especially when Percy started petting him too. Frank started purring again, but couldn't' be bothered to care. He just closed his eyes and fell asleep...

***

When Frank woke up, he was in the bed and a dog. He sighed and changed back into human form. He really needed to stop sporadically changing form in his sleep before something disastrous happens; like turning into an elephant and crushing Percy. That'd be a very bad thing.

He remembered that one time that him and Hazel had fallen asleep on the sofa after a Disney marathon, and he'd woken up only to find that he was a Bearded Dragon, and lying directly on Hazel's face... that had been awkward. And it'd only got worse when he panicked and turned into wolf. That hadn't been a good morning. Frank really, really didn't want something like that to happen with Percy. He'd never be able to live it down!

Speaking of Percy...

Percy was lying next to him, laid up like the dead, starring at the ceiling. He was expressionless, and showing no signs of acknowledging that Frank was there.  It was even more terrifying than seeing Percy in battle.

Frank got up, and noticed a note stuck to the lamp on the bedside table. It was obviously written by Percy, but it took a while for Frank to actually register that as the the writing was so much neater than Frank thought it would be. Percy had surprisingly nice handwriting.

I'm having a really, really bad day so don't bother trying to talk to me. Just go out and try to do something until I'm better again. I'm really sorry. I really am. But you'll probably have a better day without me anyway.

So Frank did. He went out, and began exploring the world that Percy Jackson called home.


	7. Chapter 7: Translations

This place seemed to be home to more lizards and cats then people, Frank mused as he strolled along. The place seemed like a ghost town with no people in sight, and it seemed to Frank that this was the completely wrong place for Percy Jackson to live. The only life in the whole town seemed to come from the animals, and that single restaurant Percy had taken him too.

How Percy had managed to keep himself entertained in the past was beyond him. Frank was sure he would have dropped dead of boredom if he'd lived here for as long as Percy had. There just didn't seem to be anything to do. How did Percy survive here? Didn't this slow, quiet town drive him crazy? 

"Frank?"

He felt somewhat relieved that someone's interrupted his silence, but that died down a bit when he saw who it was.

Jason.

Frank looked around, making sure no one could see them, but of course there was no one. And since the cats certainly weren't going to talk, he focused back on Jason.

"Hello."

"Hey... You any closer to finding Percy?"

Frank frowned, and shook his head. He had found Percy, he didn't think he could get any closer to finding Percy than that.

"No? You're not?"

"I found him."

"Oh, really? What are you doing in the middle of nowhere then?"

"This is where Percy lives now."

"What?"

Jason looked past Frank at the world behind him and frowned, and Frank had to look away.

Before... everything, Jason had been one of Frank's best friends. Jason had been like the brother Frank never knew he needed, and the same went for Hazel. But then he'd lost his memory, made new friends and got dragged on a quest to save the world; he didn't have time to rekindle old friendships. By the time everything had settled down again, he'd become too different of a person to be friends with in the same way they once had. Besides, Jason had decided he was staying at the Greek camp to be with his girlfriend and new friends, while Frank and Hazel had gone home.  

"But that place looks like a ghost town."

"Yep, you're not wrong there."

"...Percy is seriously living there? That doesn't seem like his sort of a place, does it? I thought he was, at the very least, living in a small town. Not an empty town... is he okay?"

"Could be better."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He doesn't seem to be doing too good."

"Why haven't you said anything then? When did you arrive?"

"Just a few hours ago," Frank lied; it was easier then explaining the truth. "So maybe he's just having an off day."

"Oh right, sorry, I didn't mean to snap. I'm just a little stressed..."

"What's wrong?"

"Well, we just finished making extra cabins, so I thought we'd finally have a break, but no. Apparently some people thought the school was so awful that they decided to completely demolish it! How the hell they got past the harpies, I have no idea. Maybe they asked them to join in. But anyway, we've got to rush building the school up as well as find a place to use as a substitute school and- I'm not having a good time."

"You should take a break Jason. Maybe go on a small holiday or something."

"I can't, they need me," he groaned, "Joys of being a VID; a Very Important Demigod."

"I'm sure everything will be okay. Just try not to stress out too much, okay?" Frank says. 

This doesn't seem to be the best of times for children of the big three, does it? Frank mused. Maybe Nico or Thalia were doing better though.

"How are the others by the way?"

That made Jason light up thankfully. Oh good, Frank thought, he was not going to talk about that thing then.

"Great! Nico and Will got back together! And it only took them four years or so," Jason chuckled, "But seriously, I'm glad they did break up and wait. Nico was not ready to be in a relationship at that time."

"Good for them! Tell them congratulations for me, won't you?"

"Of course I will!"

"Any other news?"

"Um... well, Drew somehow managed to seduce oh-so-straight Calypso and now they're traveling around the world together, Leo came back and is helping me with this whole mess thank gods, and Piper... she's with Annabeth."

And now he was talking about that thing, great, Frank mentally groaned. The problem was, Frank didn't know what to say when Jason or Piper brought up that thing. To Frank, it seemed like they should break up and not get back together again whenever Piper gave up on Annabeth. But he knew neither Jason nor Piper would listen to that advice, because everyone else had been telling them that, and they were still 'togther-ish'.

"S-Sorry Jason, but I promised Percy I'd go buy some milk for him, and the shops close early here so..."

Frank felt awful for lying, but he also knew that he was only going to hear Jason say what he always said when he broke up with Piper. Frank could recite it, if he really tried.

"Oh, okay. Bye then."

And Jason was gone.

To make himself feel slightly better, Frank did decide to do a bit of a shop to get some things for breakfast since he was in no way letting Percy just have half a tub of dairy-free chocolate ice cream for breakfast again. Maybe he could ask Hazel for some recipes too, Frank thought, easy recipes though. He didn't want to accidentally burn down Percy's house after all.

He ended up taking a longer time than expected, as it was near impossible to find a shop that was both open and selling vegan food, but he eventually found it. And then spend what felt like half a lifetime trying to translate everything. Sure, he learnt some Greek from his friends from the other camp, but not a lot. Maybe it was time to call up one of his Greek friends... or maybe even his Greek sister.

"Clarisse?"

"Frank? What do you want?"

By the looks of it, she was babysitting Chuck again and teaching him how to fight. Frank made a note to wear protective shoes and knee pads the next time he went to Camp Half-Blood. That kid might be small, but if he was anything like his dad, then Frank knew he'd have to weary of him.

"Um, I'm trying to buy some food but everything in Greek and I have no idea what any of it is."

"...Why?"

"Percy had nothing at home for breakfast so-"

"Percy? How is he?" Clarisse cut in. "Is he alright?"

"...Yeah. He's fine. Anyway, can you translate this for me?"

Clarisse frowned, and Frank tried not to feel too intimidated.

"You're lying."

"I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"Clarisse, I'm not lying."

"...Fine. Show what you want me to translate."

So Frank did, and while Clarisse constantly made comments about Frank choice in food, Frank was undoubtedly grateful for her help. And sure, the man behind the desk was judging him for apparently talking to nobody, but Frank didn't care. One person thinking he was odd was a small price for making sure that Percy actually had proper food to eat.

Frank slowly headed back to Percy's place, trying to take as long as possible. He wasn't sure what exactly to do if Percy was in the same state as he was in the morning. 

When he was outside Percy's door, he took a deep breath and hoped that Percy was doing better.


	8. Chapter 8: Frank Doesn't Blow Up the Kitchen

Percy was lying like a starfish in the middle of the room, staring up at the ceiling, when Frank came in.

"Hey," Frank said softly, "I'm back."

Percy didn't respond, and Frank fought the urge to just pick up Percy and hug him tightly, or put him to bed, or just do something to make Percy feel better. Well, Frank thought, maybe he could do something. It was lunchtime after all. Maybe, just maybe, he can make some lunch... with Hazel's help of course.

"Percy, uh, mind if I call up Hazel."

"...Go ahead."

Percy's words were slow and emotionless, and his voice was hoarse. Had Percy drunk anything this morning? Frank wondered. It doesn't sound like.

"Do you want a drink? Or anything specific for lunch?"

"...Some water would be nice."

"Okay."

Well that was something, Frank mused, at least he answered one out of the two questions answered. Frank got him some water, and Percy slowly sat up so he can drink it.

"Thanks," Percy croaked out, "Normally I just, you know, use my powers to do that. Like get water from the tap to fill my cup without moving an inch myself."

"So, why..."

"Using my powers is exhausting. Especially on days like this. I once tried to dry myself with my powers on a bad day and ended up fainting."

"Uh, you're not going to do that again, right?"

Percy looked at Frank like he was wondering whether or not he cared enough to punch him.

"No. I've learnt my lesson. No using powers on bad days."

And then Percy was back to lying on the floor, his stomach being used as a pillow by B. Frank meanwhile, was mentally beating himself up. Of course Percy wouldn't be stupid enough to do it again, what was wrong with him? That was so rude! This lunch has to be perfect now, to make up for it, Frank decided.

So he called Hazel.

"Frank, hi?" Hazel said, looking a little confused. "Sorry, I just didn't expect you to call back so soon. How's things?"

Frank knew 'things' meant Percy, but he was not going to say anything while Percy was in the room with him. That was just plain rude.

"Fine, fine, anyways I was hoping you could help me a bit? I'm trying to make lunch-"

"No," Hazel cut him off, "You are not making lunch Frank. What if you blow up the kitchen?!"

"That was one time!"

Hazel gave him a look.

"Okay, it was two times," he mumbled, "But what do I do if I can't make lunch? I'm not letting Percy make food again, and I don't want to waste all my money on going out for meals."

"...I'll teach you how to make soup."

"Soup? Really? That's all?"

"Soup is good," Percy cut in.

Hazel's eyes immediately go went and she leaned forward, as though she could climb through the call and end up on the other side if she tried hard enough.

"Percy?!"

Percy slowly got up and made his way over to Frank. He was wearing a big fake smile, and trying to look as cheerful as possible. For Hazel's sake. But the eyes give it away, and showed that it was all just an act.

"Hey Hazel."

There was a slight drabness to his voice, but other than that he was doing a pretty good job of sounding happy. Frank was both impressed and a little worried by Percy's acting skills. Hazel was acting too though. She was trying to not act too excited or concerned, and was desperately trying not to burst into tears.

"Hey Percy. Long time, no see."

"Was that a pun?"

"Maybe."

He tried to laugh, but it just came out as a cough, so he shrugged it off. Hazel was slowly losing the fight to keep looking happy.

"How've you been?"

"Better. I've been better. But I've also been worse, so I guess it's better than nothing."

"Uh yeah, I guess," Hazel trailed off. B suddenly jumped onto the kitchen counter, apparently feeling left out from the awkward talk. "And who's that cutie?"

"Why are you asking that? You already know Frank."

Hazel looked as shocked as Frank felt. However, she didn't look as weirdly giddy as Frank felt. Frank thought that he was going to melt into a puddle of Frank on the floor if Percy kept complimenting him. He had had a few people call him 'hot' after his transformation, but hardly anyone called him 'cute' or anything, but it seemed like Percy had made it his mission to call Frank cute at every opportunity. And Frank was honestly kind of impressed that Percy managed to think of that; maybe Percy's ex had taught him a thing or two about teasing people.

"Uh."

Percy coughed and looked away, hunching over a little.

"His name is B," Percy answered correctly this time, "And he's pretty cute, isn't he?"

"Yeah. He is," Hazel replied tensely, "...So about lunch, let me just find the ingredients and we'll go over what you need."

Well that was a quick topic change, Frank mused as Percy swayed over to his bed and flopped down onto it. A few minutes later, he heard quiet snores coming from the bed, so Frank guessed that Percy had fallen asleep.

"He's asleep, right?" Hazel asked. 

"Yep."

"Okay... what in Jupiter's name was that?!"

"Um, I don't know honestly."

"It sounded an awful like Percy was... flirting with you."

"Yeah, I-I guess it did."

Hazel gave him a blank stare, and for approximately five minutes, it became very silent and awkward in the kitchen of Percy's house.

"...So lunch?" Frank suggested.

"Okay."

Frank did not end up blowing up the kitchen, which he was very pleased about. Unfortunately, he did burn the first lot (soup can burn, who knew?) so he had to do it all over again which took some time. But eventually, it was done. And when he was ready to plate up, he was surprised to find Percy sitting on the sofa, looking slightly better.

"Sorry about making things awkward earlier," Percy apologised, "Apparently jokes weren't a good idea."

"Don't apologise, it's fine," Frank waved it off, "Anyway, here's lunch."

"You really didn't have to do this, but thank you."

They ate in silence, and Frank was happy to find that the soup actually tasted quite nice. He had to remember to give Hazel a massive hug and thank you for helping when he saw her in person.

"...You talked to any of the others lately?" Percy asked, once his bowl was empty. While he waited for Frank to reply, he went for seconds, which made Frank incredibly happy. 

"Yeah, I talked to Clarisse and a very stressed Jason."

"Yeah, isn't he having really bad relationships problems?"

"Uh, yeah," Frank sighed, "Him and Piper keep breaking up, and then getting back together when Piper can't convince Anna-, uh, Chase to come back to camp."

"...Oh."

Percy looked like he just just had a revelation, and Frank wasn't quite sure why.

"Oh?"

"Think of it this way," Percy said, "If... Chase was a guy, and Piper kept running to him every time she broke up with Jason, only to return to Jason when things ended up going nowhere with Chase, wouldn't you think that Piper liked Chase? And that she only keeps running back to Jason because she couldn't get the person she really wants to be with?"

"...Are you saying-" 

"Implying," Percy corrected him, "I'm implying that Piper likes Chase. As in has a crush on her."

Now that Frank thought about it, it was pretty suspicious. Piper could technically go to see Annabeth while being with Jason, nothing would stop her. Jason would probably encourage her if anything. But if Piper did, maybe she would feel like she was cheating on Jason.

"That... that actually makes a lot of sense. Wow. I-I never thought about it like this."

"It's so far out of people's mind for two women to be together romantically that most people wouldn't think about it like that," Percy huffed, "It's fucking bullshit. The same goes for guys though; the amount of people who thought that Tommy and I were just 'bros' is unbelievable."

"Tommy?"

"That was my ex's name... didn't I tell you that?"

"No."

"Oh... sorry, I thought I had."

"...It doesn't- um, does it make you uncomfortable when I talk about him?" Percy asked. "Because I can-"

"It's fine!" Frank cut him off. "It's just like if I talked about when I was with Hazel, it shouldn't be a big deal."

Percy smiled, and Frank liked to think that it was genuine.

"It shouldn't, should it? The soup is great by the way, you have to give me the recipe."

"You do like it, oh thank the gods!"

"Yeah, I did. By the way, what was all that about blowing up a kitchen twice?"

"Ugh, why did you bring that up?!" Franks groaned.

Percy just smirked (it was a small smirk that didn't quite meet his eyes, but a smirk nevertheless) and playfully knocked against Frank's shoulder.

"Come on, how the fuck did you manage that? Were you cooking with dynamite or something?!"

"Leave me alone."

"Not until you tell me how you did that."

And so did.

And later on, Frank wasn't quite sure how they'd ended up sitting on the bed, under the covers in their pyjamas, eating vegan chocolate while Frank recounted all of his cooking failures, but Frank couldn't find it in himself to care. Everything felt warm and happy, and he hoped Percy felt the same.


	9. Chapter 9: An Especially Annoying Individual

Frank woke up the next morning up early by an especially annoying individual.

"What's up Bear Man?"

Frank groaned and attempted to cut through the message, but missed it completely which earned him a laugh from the person on the other end of the call. Frank wondered why he had become so popular lately, it was starting become irritating.

"Woke you up, did I? Sorry man, but it is nine. I thought you'd be awake by now."

"What do you want Leo?"

Frank liked Leo... most of the time, but he really wasn't in the mood to deal with the hyperactive son of Vulcan so early in the morning. He pushed himself up onto his elbows, all ready to tell him that, but Leo spoke before Frank could.

"You back at camp already Frank? Why didn't you tell us?"

With a frown, Frank sat up and eyed Leo curiously. Leo always seemed to be on a different wavelength to everyone else, bouncing around with a sort of energy that Frank couldn't wrap his head around, and bouncing to and fro topics so quickly and swiftly that he left Frank running behind him, trying to catch up. So 99.9% of the time that Frank was around Leo, he had no idea what the son of Vulcan was actually talking about.

"...What?"

"I asked if you were back at camp already, with Hazel... that is her, right?"

Leo pointed towards the person who was lying beside Frank, almost completely hidden underneath the bedsheets, and most definitely not hazel. In his tired state, Frank didn't think twice about saying:

"Of course not."

Leo's eyes lit up, and Frank immediately realised his mistake. 

"No, wait, let me-"

"No need to explain my friend, I got ya! Didn't peg you as the type for that though Zhang," Leo laughed, "Who is she? Is she pretty."

"Leo, listen to me, 'she'-"

"Fuck off Valdez!" Percy interrupted.  "I'm trying to sleep."

His voice was muffled and he didn't move at all, and Frank hoped that Leo didn't figure it out. Frank doesn't quite know why it bothered him so much though, friends shared beds all the time. It shouldn't be a big deal.

Leo's eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. Uh oh, Frank thought.

"Wow, didn't you know, uh, played for the other team," he coughed, "A-Anyway, I'll call you later... have fun, love birds!"

Leo ended the call and Frank took a deep breath, feeling ready to crawl into a hole and never, ever come out.

"Is he gone?" Percy asked.

"Y-Yeah."

"Thank fuck," he grumbled as he came out of hiding, "I thought he'd never leave! He is way too perky to handle first thing in the morning. His enthusiasm honestly sickens me."

Frank blinked, eyes wide.

"...You sound like a Disney villain."

Percy scrunched up his nose and squinted at Frank, looking sleepy and adorable. Frank had to look away. Then, randomly, Percy started laughing.

"Sorry, sorry," he said once he had calmed down, "It's just that... Tommy loves saying shit like that, and it always made me laugh."

Frank didn't know what to say about that, so he got up and began to get dressed.  As he did that, he noticed a photograph on the bed side table. Without really thinking about, Frank picked up the picture and looked at it.

In the picture, Percy was standing on the beach with shorter hair and a bigger smile. He was standing next to a tall, handsome man who had an arm wrapped around Percy's slim shoulders. That must be Tommy, Frank realised, and he could immediately see why Percy fell for him. Tommy was all smiles and bright blue eyes and freckles with long blond hair tied back; he looked like your typical son of Apollo.

"Is this Tommy?" Frank asked anyway.

Percy wandered over and looked at the photo. He immediately smiled fondly and took the photo off Frank.

"Yeah..."

"He looks nice."

"He was... he was."

It took Frank a few seconds to realise that tears were pouring down Percy's face, and as soon as he did, he wrapped his arms around Percy and hugged him tightly. He wasn't full on sobbing, just silently crying and Frank was 

"S-Sorry," Percy coughed out, "I-I haven't really let myself think about him since we broke it off... I knew it wouldn't last but I wanted it too. Gods, I wanted it to last so badly."

Frank wasn't sure what to say.

"I'm fine Frank, I promise. I guess I just needed a little cry."

"...How long have you been bottling this up?"

"Too long," Percy chuckled, "I kept telling myself that I didn't care because it would never last, and he was too good for me, and- I'm fine."

Frank knew he wasn't, so he gently moved them over to the bed, never once letting go of Percy. He closed his eyes and sighed as Percy slowly hugged him back. That was very nice...

***

Frank wasn't quite sure how Percy managed to escape from his grasp, but he was quite impressed. By the looks of it, it was the afternoon now, so Frank had basically slept through the whole day... great.

"Percy?"

"Afternoon, Sleepy Head. Sleep well?"

Frank blushed and began to get up.

"I guess I did... what are you cooking there?"

"Um... it's some old recipe of Rachel that I can't remember the name of."

"Alright."

Frank wasn't picky. As long as the food was vegan, he'd eat it. Anyway, he doubted that Percy could make a bad meal if his pancakes were anything to go by.

"Uh, Frank? Do you want to sit over here?" Percy asked, gesturing to the stool by the kitchen counter.

"Um, sure, but why?"

"I want to talk to you about Leo."

Uh oh, Frank thought, this will be fun. He awkwardly sat down near Percy, and tried not to look too panicked.

"...Why did Leo think I was Hazel?" Percy asked some time of silence.

"Because I haven't been with anyone since Hazel, I guess."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Oh... right."

"Why do you sound so surprised."

"Like I said, you're a great guy. I thought people would be all over you once you became single."

"I'm not a great guy... I'm average."

Percy plated up the food and sat directly opposite Frank, staring him down. Once again, Frank had to look away.

"You are great. You're friendly, you're kind, you're help, strong, brave and, um, you know, objectively speaking, you don't uh, look too bad? Shit, that's not what I meant, I mean, I, ugh!"

When Frank looked up, he saw a very flustered Percy who was aggressively avoiding eye contact. Frank decided that Percy actually looked very adorable when he was flustered... objectively speaking.

"Uh, thanks. You too. No, wait, that sounds stupid, I mean-"

Percy burst into laughter and so Frank just gave up and joined in. Their knees knocked against each other and their feet bumped each other, and Frank found that he quite liked it.

"Wow, look at us idiots," Percy chuckled.

"Yeah..."

"...Hey, you want to out and do some touristy shit in the mainland?"

"Uh, sure?"

Percy grinned and got up.

"Then we better get ready and head off."

Percy walked off and Frank watched him, trying to ignore butterflies in his stomach.


	10. Chapter 10: Greeks Are Gay

As they rode the boat to the mainland, Frank couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. It reminded him of his quest with Percy and Hazel oh so long ago, and he told Percy so. Percy just laughed and smiled.

“It feels like that happened years ago,” he commented, “Like it happened to me in another life.”

“I guess it has been a couple of years.”

“A couple?”

“Okay, maybe a lot… I still remember it like it was yesterday.”

“Well, I guess it would be hard to forget being stuck on a boat with an amnesic idiot and your crush of the time who kept having blackouts and visions from her past life.”

“…You’re not an idiot.”

Percy raised an eyebrow and smirked softly. 

“All of the things you could pick out to comment on there, you chose that?”

Frank shrugged, trying to ignore the fact that he was blushing.

“It’s just… I don’t think anyone has really told you that, so yeah.”

“Because I am an idiot.”

“An idiot wouldn’t have survived this long,” Frank argued, “And you sure aren’t surviving off dumb luck, so you must be smart.”

Percy didn’t speak for the rest of the ride, but that was fine with Frank. He could see the small smile that Percy was trying to hide, which was more than enough. He doubted Percy believed him, but at least he wasn’t trying to argue with him.

When they reached the mainland, Percy pulled him off the boat and never let go.

It was actually quite fun to just wander aimless around the mainland, looking at the stalls and shops and laughing at the ridiculous attire of the European tourists, especially with Percy beside him to whisper silly little comments into his ear. He picked up a few little trinkets and things for his friends, and tried some of the food that Percy insisted that he should try… which seemed to be every type of food that they walked by. They took turns taking the first bite, making silly faces to make the other laugh like they were little kids, not grown adults. And now and then they would stop to admire the view, and Percy would tell him something new about the area.

However, Frank was finding it hard to concentrate.

The sun was glaring down, making Percy’s eyes gleam like the endless sea, and Frank couldn’t help but feel as though he was being drawn in. For the first time since Frank had found him, Percy actually looked alive, and it was magnificent. Now this was the Percy that everyone fell in love with; the boy with eyes that could drown you, a smile that could trap you and a voice that could soothe you. And it didn’t help that Percy kept his hand on Frank’s back, nails slightly digging in, to make sure that they didn’t lose each other in the busy crowd. Frank couldn’t tell if he wanted Percy to let go, or hold on tighter.

He tried to blame Leo for all this… somehow. Blaming him for waking Frank up so early, and putting him all out of whack. But he couldn’t blame Leo for the blush on his cheeks, or the way he stammered when Percy spoke to him.

“Having fun?” Percy asked, looking up at him through his eyelashes with a sweet smile.

Frank looked away; he seemed to be doing that a lot lately.

“Y-Yeah.”

“…You alright?”

Frank nodded, taking deep breaths and trying to work out why he was acting so strange. It was just Percy after all. Gorgeous, kind, smart Percy… Suddenly, Frank stopped walking.  
Oh, he thought, Oooooh. Did he…?

“Frank?”

He shook his head and forced a smile for Percy. Percy frowned and subtly jutted out his hip, looking like an annoyed mother who was about to scream at her annoying kids. He took a step forward and put his hand on Frank’s forehead, his frown deepening.

“You’re burning up a storm, Frank,” he commented, “Come on, let’s go find a café and get you out of the sun for a while.”

Frank was now definitely grateful for Percy’s hand on his back, pushing him alone, or else he probably wouldn’t have moved an inch. He was too busy comprehending what he had just realised about himself. There wasn’t any other explanation for it, was there? He felt the same way about Percy as he did when he first met Hazel; head over heels. There was no denying it.

Frank liked Percy.

Oh gods, he thought, I am screwed.

He barely took notice of how Percy brought them into a café and sat them down, ordering them both a drink. Things like that were pretty irrelevant when you were having a gay revelation about the guy who you’d be living with for the next month. The guy who just this morning had cried over his ex-boyfriend. The guy who was obviously into guys. The guy who was sitting directly opposite you, looking worried.

“Frank? Are you okay? You don’t feel light headed, or sick, or anything do you?”

Frank was not okay. He did feel light headed and sick. But it had absolutely nothing to do with the sun (Frank hoped at least), yet he couldn’t just say that, could he?

“I’m fine,” he assured Percy, “Just…”

“Fine?” Percy snapped. “Don’t give me that, you were totally out of it! I could have punched you, and I doubt you’d notice!”

“I was just a bit… overwhelmed by the crowd?”

“We’ve been out there for an hour, and you’re only now getting overwhelmed?”

The drinks came and Frank immediately downed his, using that time to try and think of what he could possibly say. He couldn’t think of any real excuses though, apparently from ‘I’m about to die from heatstroke’, which would only make Percy panic more.

“…Tired,” he said eventually, “I’m just tired… and a bit hot.”

Percy’s face softened, and a small smile grew on his lips. His hand reached across the table and lay on to of Frank’s, warm and heavy. 

“You should have told me,” he said quietly, “We could have left ages ago.”

“But you were enjoying it, and-“

“If you’re not having a good time, then I’m not either,” Percy insisted, “How can I enjoy myself if you’re not?”

“I, uh-“

Frank was having a hard time Englishing when Percy was looking at him like that, touching him like that, and talking to him like that. Like they were something more than friends who hadn’t spoken in years. Like they were a new couple, still working out things between. He prayed to Venus – why Venus of all gods? Why? – for a distraction.  
A waitress came up to them, looking tired and fighting to keep that smile on her face. Frank thanked Venus profusely, making a note to burn something for her another day.

“Hello, can I get you two anything to eat?”

Percy gave him a long hard look that said ‘Order some fucking food or so help me, I’ll order it for you and shove it down your throat’.

“Yep,” Frank squeaked.

“Alright then.”

They ordered food and waited for her to leave, Percy tapping his free fingers impatiently against his glass like he desperate for her to leave.

“Okay,” she finally said, “It’ll be out as soon as possible. You make a nice couple by the way.”

Frank took it back, Venus was not going to have anything from him, except for a few harsh words. Opposite him, Percy’s fingers froze, and he looked away from the lady.

“…Thanks,” Percy huffed.

When she finally left, the tapping started again, slowly and quietly. He kept his eyes trained on something happening in the world outside, but never moved his other hand away from Frank’s.

“Percy… are you okay?”

He sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine…”

“…You know, I’m kind of surprised by how many people have assumed that we’re a couple and have been okay with it. I thought we would have had at least one angry white catholic lady scream at us by now,” Frank tried to joke.

Frank wasn’t exactly the best at cracking jokes, but he thought it was worth a shot. And it definitely was worth it, as it earned him a chuckled and a smile from Percy, who eventually tore his eyes away from the window to look back at him.

“Well we are in Greece.”

“So?”

Percy smirked, and Frank once again began to feel light headed. Honestly, Percy smirking was not good for his health. He was going to die of a heart attack before he was even thirty at this rate!

“Come on, Greece is notorious for being gay! I mean, you have you heard the stories of the demigods and gods and all their male lovers; Achilles and Patroclus, Apollo and Hyacinth – need I go on?”

“Achilles and Patroclus? I thought they were just friends.”

Percy leaned forward, a dangerous gleam in his eyes that encouraged Frank to copy him, and lean forward too.

“Well then, you’ve been listening to the wrong people, my dearest Frank. Now get yourself comfy because until our food comes, I’m telling you exactly why those who were totally gay and totally in love.”

“I’m all ears.”

If you had told Frank that one day, he’d been sitting in a café in Greece with a bisexual Percy Jackson who was holding his hand and telling him the story of ancient gay Greeks, he would not have believed you. Heck, he didn’t quite believe it and he was in that situation, but he found that he loved it. He couldn’t think of a better way to spend his day than listening to such a pretty boy talk about ancient gay lovers.


	11. Chapter 11: Silver Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apologise in advance

The air was warm, the stars were sparkling, and the ground beneath them was surprisingly soft and dry. Frank was grateful for all that as he lay down beside Percy, in his pretty garden, staring at the stars.

The rest of the day had been spent recalling stories in the café, and by the time they got home, it was dark. But neither had been quite ready to go to bed just yet, so Percy had taken Frank outside and wordless asked if he would like to star gaze with him. How could Frank refuse? He found himself more interested in the person next to him though, then the glimmering stars.

While Percy's expression may have been harsh (as it naturally always was) his eyes looked like molten silver, reflected by the moon above. Frank thought he could be the richest man alive if those eyes met his for even just a second.

They were both silent, but Frank wanted to break that silence. He was itching to hear Percy's voice and get lost in it.

"...Do you like star gazing?" Frank asked.

Percy's lips quirked, and he awkwardly shrugged as much as he could in his current position.

"Kinda. It's a-" he paused to think "-bittersweet thing."

Frank frowned but decided against asking. He didn't want to make Percy feel sad after all.

"Does any of your family like it?"

That was the right question to ask, Frank mused as Percy relaxed and smiled softly. Family was a good topic to talk about with Percy.

"Yeah; Dad loves it. Sometimes if neither of us can sleep, we'll go out and sit on the pavement, watching the stars. He'll tell me the names of every constellation and star, and the story behind every one of them. It's nice... Mum and Blue join us sometimes, although Blue prefers to make up her own ones."

"Like?"

Percy shifted closer - Frank hoped he didn't hear the way his breath hitched - and pointed to the collection of stars, tracing a shape out of them like the sky was a dot-to-dot book.

"That, is the great butterfly Clive. Why Clive, I don't know, but she gets grumpy if you get the name wrong, so Clive it is. According to her, Clive is a sign of hope and life."

Percy pointed to another cluster of stars nearby 'Clive', and traced another shape.

"And that's Kevin, the bird of death. He spends his whole life chasing after Clive, trying to eat him because, and I quote "he's a meanie and an idiot who won't go to Space McDonalds", which is conveniently placed right behind him."

Frank burst into laughter, heart thumping at the sound of Percy's low chuckle. It made him feel alive, and safer and warmer than any blanket ever could.

"Sounds like she's got a good imagination."

"Yeah, she has. She got it from Mum," he said with a smile, "...Do you mind if we go see them before we go to camp?"

"I don't," Frank replied.

"...Speaking of that, how are we getting back?"

"Well, Jason managed to convince Nico to come and shadow travel us back home."

Percy winced, groaned and then rubbed at his eyes. Frank hoped this next question wouldn't completely ruin this perfect night, but he desperately wanted to know the answer.

"You don't have to answer this but... what happened? With you and Nico?"

Percy shrugged again.

"If I knew, I would tell you. But I can't remember anything."

"What?"

"The last time we were hanging out was at Connor's birthday, and I stupidly left my Coke alone for a second to go to the toilet. But in that time, someone spiked my drink. When I woke up the next morning, I had a hangover, no memory of the night before and a note from Nico saying to keep the fuck away from him."

What could have Percy have done to make Nico react that way? Knowing Nico, it could have been any small, silly thing.

Percy continued to speak, a deep frown on his face, which made Frank feel guilty.

"I tried to ask him what I had done, but he refused to talk to me. He wouldn't talk a day later, a week later, a month later, a year later... eventually I gave up. Figured I was fighting a losing battle."

Frank rolled onto his side and gave Percy an awkward one-armed hug.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"Don't be. I ask myself that pretty much every day," he chuckled bitterly.

Percy rolled over and slipped an arm around Frank, making their hug a little less awkward, and all the more intimate. Frank gulped and prayed to Venus that nothing would happen and ruin the moment.

All Frank could hear now was their breaths, the crickets and the quiet scuttling of small creatures hiding in the darkness around them. All he could feel was Percy's body - warm, thin but still muscled - pressed against his. All his could smell was Percy's cheap cologne.

All he could see were Percy's eyes.

There was staring into his, brow furrowed as though he was working out a difficult equations. Then, his eyes flickered down. To Frank's lips. Unconsciously, Frank licked his lips, and Percy copied the action. Frank heart beat fast and his nerves felt electric. All Frank could register was Percy, Percy, Percy, because that was the most important thing, that was all that was important. 

Percy' nose bumped against his, his breath warm against Frank's lips, and Frank didn't think twice before closing his eyes. He leaned in, closer and closer and-

Something pressed against his lips. Not another pair of lips though, instead it was a finger. Frank opened his eyes and looked back at Percy, who was frowning and worrying his lip.

“Are you okay Percy?”

“No, I can’t, I can’t,” Percy stammered, “It’s too soon and I’m not over Tommy-“

Frank held Percy tight and shushed him kindly. Percy buried his head in Frank chest and dug his nails into Frank’s arm.

“It’s okay,” he insisted, “We’ll wait. It is probably too early anyway I mean, I literally only just realised that I liked you.”

“…You don’t mind waiting?”

“Not at all.”

Frank would be happy to wait forever if he had to. This felt… more than his crush for Hazel had even been. This felt bigger, and stronger, and oh so more sweet. He liked this feeling, and just knowing that Percy might, just might, feel the same way about him was enough to keep Frank smiling for days.

“…I do like you, a lot,” Percy whispered, “But I’m sorry-“

“Please don’t apologise,” Frank cut him off, “Please.”

“…Okay.”

It felt like hours that they laid there together, wrapped up in each other’s arms, just enjoying the closeness of it all. Frank wanted the moment to last forever, but he knew it wouldn’t. He wasn’t that lucky.

Eventually, Percy fell asleep in his arms and Frank knew it was time to move. He picked Percy up and tucked him into bed before joining him, hesitating for a second before wrapping his arms around Percy. Immediately, Percy rolled around and rubbed his face against Frank chest, mumbling nonsense under his breath. Frank felt his heart flutter and smiled, kissing Percy’s forehead as his heart thumped wildly.

There weren’t ready, they weren’t there yet, but they would be. One day. Hopefully soon.


	12. Chapter 12: Polaroid Photograph

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is really short, but I didn't know how to finish it... I've had this draft on my computer for ages now and it was annoying me, so I had to post it. I'm not sure if I'm going to ever get around to finishing this story though... I have the plot in my mind, but yeah, not sure if ill finish it or not

Frank couldn't quite believe it, they were finally going back.

The month had passed by in a blur and now, as he stood outside the house with his bag in hand, he found himself wishing he had more time. He'd grown to love that house and that place just as Percy had, and a part of him wanted to stay.

The curtains closed on the inside of the house, and Percy came out with his bags and B. He locked the house and gave the door a little pat before walking over to Frank. They stood side by side, a space between them, as they looked up at the house.

Frank, with a sudden shock, realised that the little place had become home in his mind, and ached with the thought of leaving it behind.

"...Come on," Percy eventually said, "If we don't go now, we might never."

"Is that such a bad idea?" Frank asked with a humorless laugh.

"We can come back for holidays and shit, don't worry. It'll still be ours by the time tomorrow comes."

Frank's heart leapt a little at that, at the 'we' and 'ours'. 

"Now, how are we getting back?" Percy asked.

"Lord Apollo."

Percy groaned and frowned.

"Why him?!"

"He was the only god with a big enough vehicle to fit us as well as our stuff, and the only god who owed some demigods a favour."

"Fantastic. So how do we summon the dipshit?"

Frank opened his mouth to reply, but apparently that had somehow done the trick as the sun chariot appeared out of the sky. It did a couple of loops before landing barely an inch from their faces. Frank awkwardly looked away, he had a feeling that this wasn’t going to be a fun experience.

"Fucking show off," Percy muttered under his breath. Then, at a louder volume he said, "Lord Apollo?"

The door swung open and the god strolled out clad in sunglasses, swim shorts and flip flops. No shirt. He looked like many a person’s day dream, and yet Percy looked like he was about to throw up the minute Apollo appeared.

"Percy! I haven't seen you in a while! How's everyone's favourite hero doing?"

"I don't know, but I'm doing shit."

Apollo actually seemed surprised by that and paused for a second, but then he shook it off and brought back the smile.

"You've certainly grown up, haven't you?"

"No offense, Lord Apollo, but can we please just get in and leave already? B gets antsy and scratchy if he’s out in the sun for too long.”

“Um, yeah.”

Percy didn’t even hesitate before storming into the sun chariot and sitting down at the back of it, as far away from the driver’s seat as possible. Outside of the chariot, both Frank and Apollo watched him with wide eyes. Frank wondered if they were going to be able to make it the entire journey, or if Percy was going to get them kicked out halfway through.

“Um, thank you for the ride Lord Apollo,” he said.

Apollo said nothing, and just gestured for Frank to get in, which he did. He took a seat next to Percy, and without thinking, took his hand too, holding tightly onto it and rubbing circles on his palm. Percy didn’t react, but Frank hoped it was somehow helping.

“Are you okay?” Frank asked quietly as Apollo got in and shut the door behind him.

“No.”

He didn’t say anything more, focusing on instead petting B, so Frank decided not to push it. They eventually started moving, and for a good long while, no one spoke. The only sound came from the radio, the engine, and B. But Frank could see that wasn’t going to last. At the front, Apollo was tapping his foot out of time to the beat of the song, and every now and then would chance a look behind him.

“So,” he said, “How’s life been?”

“I’d appreciate it if you the crap with the pleasantries,” Percy snapped, “You don’t care, I know you don’t dare, so why bother? If you want to fill up the silence, turn your music up.”

Then Percy put on his headphones.

His time as a mortal must have changed him a lot, Frank mused, as Apollo didn’t reply or do anything. He just went silent. It was uncomfortable and awkward, but Frank had gotten used to it. Percy had a gift for making situations uncomfortable and awkward without even really meaning to. 

And even if he hadn’t got used to it, he wasn’t going to change it. He didn’t know how to talk to a god and Percy was off-limits too. He was staring into space with a thoughtful expression on his face – focused – and Frank knew better than to interrupt Percy when he was focused.

Frank, desperate for something to do, reached into his pockets and decided to go over what was in there. He had Percy’s fidget pen, chewing gum, old sweets, a ticket to that hilarious bad movie he and Percy had seen, B’s broken collar which needed to be repaired, a business card to that restaurant Percy liked so much, and a picture. It was of him and Percy at the beach.

Frank remembered that day well. For a couple of days before the picture had been taken, Percy had been especially bad. He hadn’t got out of bed, wouldn’t shower, and on the rare time when he would get up, he walked around like a zombie. In desperation, Frank suggested a beach day, hoping that maybe being at the beach would somehow help. It did, a little. He seem more content and relaxed at least, and started talking more. It’d been nothing special, but it was a day Frank was fond of nevertheless. Any day when Percy was feeling a bit better was a good day.

“Nice picture.”

Frank nearly leapt a mile and starred up at Apollo, who had apparently decided to not fly the chariot that was zooming through the sky at unbelievable speeds. Fantastic. 

“Auto-piolet,” Apollo said as though Frank had voiced his concern out loud, “Anyway, are you two…?”

Frank blushed and looked away, putting the photo back into his pocket.

“N-No.”

Apollo didn’t look convinced. 

“Are you sure about that? I don’t think just anyone could have convinced him to come back…”

“He was planning to come back anyway, I just hung around to give him company. There’s definitely nothing going on between us.”

Frank wished there was though. But ever since that almost-kiss, nothing had happened. They got closer, hugged and held hands more often, but that was it. Percy hadn’t mentioned the kiss at all or anything about dating, and so Frank had kept silent too. He didn’t want to ruin anything by pushing Percy before he was ready, but it would have been nice to talk about it at least once…

He shook his head as if to get rid of the stupid thoughts.

“How much longer is this going to take?”

“Not long, just sit back and relax,” Apollo replied. Then he turned around and walked back up to the wheel. “Maybe take a nap, son of Mars.”

“…You didn’t even answer my question.”

But Apollo wasn’t listening, so Frank just gave up. Maybe taking Apollo’s advice would be a good idea, it wasn’t as though he had anything else to do anyway. So he shifted about until he was comfortable, and closed his eyes…


End file.
